Houston’s young backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. combined for 50 points on solid efficiency, but they couldn’t keep pace with Boston’s All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The duo shined as the Celtics pulled away late to defeat the Rockets, 126-102 (box score).
With Tuesday’s win, Eastern Conference-leading Boston (25-10) further improved its NBA-best record, while Houston (10-24) remains in last place in the Western Conference. It was the second night of a road back-to-back for the Rockets, who had an impressive win less than 24 hours earlier in Chicago.
Each team’s top two scorers delivered in a big way on Tuesday night. Key statistics for that quartet included:
- Brown: 39 points on 14-of-26 shooting (53.8% FG) and 6-of-15 on 3-pointers (40%); 3 steals in 35 minutes
- Tatum: 38 points on 12-of-25 shooting (48%) and 6-of-16 on 3-pointers (37.5%); 8 rebounds, 4 assists in 34 minutes
- Green: 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting (50%) and 3-of-11 on 3-pointers (27.3%); 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers in 33 minutes
- Porter: 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting (44.4%) and 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%); 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 0 turnovers in 35 minutes
Boston got stronger as the game went along, perhaps due to fatigue issues on Houston’s end from the road back-to-back. In the second half, the Celtics outscored the Rockets by a 70-53 margins.
Ultimately, for Houston to defeat the NBA’s best team on the road, they needed either an off night by one or both of Boston’s stars or plenty of help from their own supporting cast. Neither happened.
Besides the All-Star duo carrying Boston, Green and Porter had little support from two of their most important young teammates, rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. and second-year center Alperen Sengun.
One night after scoring 25 points on better than 80% shooting in Chicago, Sengun went 0-for-3 and didn’t score a single point in Boston. Smith scored just 6 points on Tuesday on 2-of-10 shooting (20.0%), including 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.6%). Over his last seven games, Smith is shooting near 20% on 3-pointers. Sengun and Smith did grab 9 rebounds apiece, each tied for most on the Rockets.
Rookie guard TyTy Washington was a bright spot off the bench with 10 points and 3 assists, making 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%).
Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interview reaction from Boston’s TD Garden. Houston’s three-game road trip concludes Thursday in Dallas, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. Central.